1 billion years of Moon impacts converted into music
Image credit: SYSTEM Sounds
Scientists have recently been able to determine the age of 111 of the Moon's larger impact craters that are younger than about 1 billion years. Here you can listen to these impacts occur within 1 minute with larger craters producing louder and deeper notes.
The craters were dated by studying how fast the ejected material cools during the lunar nighttime. The debris from older craters has crumbled more over time and the smaller pieces are able to cool very fast. Younger craters are still surrounded by ejected boulders which stay warmer for longer.
Surprisingly, the data shows that lunar impacts became more frequent about 290 million years ago. This indicates that the Earth likely also faced a greater rate of impacts at that time, although many of the impact craters have long disappeared.
The sustained cello-like drone in the background is created by converting the elevation of the Moon's entire surface directly into a sound wave:
For more info visit system-sounds.com/moon-impacts system-sounds.com
Created by Matt Russo, Andrew Santaguida, and Dan Tamayo
Data: Mazrouei et al (Science 2019) http://science.sciencemag.org/content…
The Watchers team and our contributors bring the latest on extreme weather, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, space weather, and all things science. We're all about making sense of the natural world and keeping you informed on what’s happening. Got a tip or a question? Hit us up using the form at newstips!
Commenting rules and guidelines
We value the thoughts and opinions of our readers and welcome healthy discussions on our website. In order to maintain a respectful and positive community, we ask that all commenters follow these rules.